Masséna Nord, the Latin quarter of eastern Paris
Coordinating architect: Christian de Portzamparc
Landscape designer : Thierry Huau

Masséna quarter Running alongside the Seine for almost one kilometre and with its southern boundaries marked out by Avenue de France, the Masséna Nord district is characterised by innovative urban planning. Its development is based on the principle of the open block, creating a suburban atmosphere by means of alternating heights and varied architectural statements. Housing, offices, artists' studios, art galleries, commercial outlets, services, public amenities, green spaces and the university combine to establish a harmonious urban fabric.
At its centre, a garden laid out in three plots and the Esplanade des Grands Moulins offer a park covering 2 hectares. Numerous public amenities are already open: a car park, the Primo-Levi school, a centre for protection of mother and child and a day-care-centre. A community centre is also planned.
A special feature of the Masséna Nord sector is the presence of older buildings which have been preserved and renovated. The Grands Moulins and the Halle aux Farines host part of Université Paris 7. The "Frigos", former refrigerated warehouses belonging to the SNCF (French railways) but now owned by the Paris Housing buildings municipality, are leased by artists and craftworkers.
The university hub which opens onto the city, unlike the conventional concept of the campus, is the lifeblood of this new district. In partnership with the State and the Region, the Paris municipality has transferred ownership of this land free of charge. This major hub is now comprised of the multidisciplinary university Paris 7 – Denis Diderot. The national institute for oriental languages and civilisations (INALCO, known as Langues'O) due to open around 2010, will host the largest oriental library in France, the BULAC.
This major university hub will eventually host 30,000 students, lecturers and researchers.

Masséna-Bruneseau: the surroundings of Boulevard du Général Jean-Simon (formerly Masséna)
Coordinating architect : Yves Lion

This district stretches from the biopark and the Paris-Val-de-Seine school of architecture through to the borders of the town of Ivry. And to the south, it encompasses the Masséna railway station and Rue du Loiret. Urbanisation of the district is complicated by the existence of motorways and railway lines. The junction at the end of Avenue de France on Boulevard du Général Jean-Simon, as well as the new district's links with the neighbouring commune of Ivry, were the subject of a definition study initiated at end 2001. The winning proposal by Yves Lion creates a seamless connection between the new districts and their built-up environments, both on the side of the 13th arrondissement and on the Ivry-sur-Seine side. The Paris municipality is keen to see an urban continuity between the two communes.

Masséna-Chevaleret, the seam between the old and new 13th
Coordinating architects : Bruno Fortier, Jean-Thierry Bloch
Landscape designer : Jean-Claude Hardy

Bordered to the north by Avenue de France and to the south by Rue du Chevaleret, a new residential district is taking shape. 1,000 housing units for families and students are planned. "Planted windows" and staircases are laid out on a gentle slope hugging the gradient created by coverage of the railway lines. Rue du Chevaleret offers significant openings onto the new neighbourhood. Public amenities are already open: the Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand connection station - line 14 of the metro and RER C, the Thomas-Mann secondary school and its gymnasium, as well as a university clinic. There are also plans for a nursery school, primary school, crèche-day care centre, two gardens, the construction of a theatre, a car park, INALCO and BULAC.